Greenberg Seronick Wins HealthFirst After Review

Managed Care Client Taps Boston Shop for Print, Direct Mail Work BOSTON–The direct marketing division of Greenberg Seronick O’Leary & Partners has landed the integrated account of a New York-based healthcare client. The assignment could be worth $5-8 million within the next year. HealthFirst, a not-for-profit managed healthcare provider, selected the Boston shop following a review of undisclosed contenders in New England and New York. Billings are $2 million through year’s end but are expected to increase fourfold next year, said Greenberg Seronick vice president David Sarlitto, who oversees the agency’s direct marketing group. A print and direct mail campaign with a branding message will break in four to six weeks and target Medicare recipients in Queens and Nassau counties in New York, Sarlitto said. “The overall purpose is to drive Medicare recipients to the HealthFirst managed care business [and to] brand [the client] at the same time,” he said. Although “the focus will be on direct,” the campaign’s approach will be highly integrated and include input from the 30-person agency’s mainstream advertising and media units, Sarlitto said. The media buy, which Greenberg Seronick is also handling, will include The New York Times, the New York Post, Newsday and various community newspapers, as well as Asian and Hispanic publications. Eventually, the campaign will be expanded throughout the entire New York metropolitan area, with broadcast executions likely added into the mix, Sarlitto said. David Henderson, senior vice president of sales and marketing at HealthFirst, said Greenberg Seronick was chosen because “of all the agencies we talked to, Greenberg Seronick offered us the best mix of strategic thinking, direct response marketing and creative capability.” The agency’s experience with former client HealthSource and Sarlitto’s past freelance work for Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York were also factors in Greenberg Seronick’s selection by HealthFirst, Sarlitto said. Henderson did not identify the agencies that pitched the business. Sarlitto said about five undisclosed shops were involved in the review.